Hall of Fame coach Sylvia Hatchell resigns at North Carolina after investigation into conduct

Hall of Fame women's basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell resigned Thursday after an investigation concluded that she made racially insensitive remarks to her players at North Carolina, and pressured injured players to return to the court before they had fully healed.

The university announced in a news release late Thursday that Hatchell, who was one of the longest-tenured coaches in Division I women's basketball, submitted her resignation after athletic director Bubba Cunningham reviewed the findings of the investigation, which was commissioned April 1 and conducted by Charlotte law firm Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein.

Cunningham said in a statement that he determined that "the program needed to be taken in a new direction," and Hatchell agreed.

"She offered her resignation today. I accepted it," Cunningham said in the statement. "We appreciate her 33 years of service to Carolina and to the community, and we wish her the best."

North Carolina did not detail specific instances of misconduct in its news release, offering only three "overarching" conclusions of the investigation: That Hatchell made racially insensitive comments to players, that she exuded "undue influence" with medical issues and that she had a "breakdown in connectivity" with her players.

Parents of current and former players told The Washington Post that Hatchell regularly pressured injured players to play through serious injuries or otherwise rush back to the court when they should have sought more treatment. They also told the newspaper Hatchell made racially insensitive remarks on multiple occasions and refused to apologize for them when confronted by players.

According to North Carolina, the investigation found that "(Hatchell) is not viewed as a racist, but her comments and subsequent response caused many in the program to believe she lacked awareness and appreciation for the effect her remarks had on those who heard them."

Hatchell, who missed the entire 2013-14 season after being diagnosed with leukemia, is the winningest women's basketball coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history and surpassed the 1,000-win mark in 2017. Only three NCAA women's basketball coaches — Pat Summit, Tara VanDerveer and Geno Auriemma — have accrued more wins.

The 67-year-old also worked as an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic team in 1988 and is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. 

"The game of basketball has given me so much, but now it is time for me to step away," Hatchell said in part of a statement released by the university. "This is an idea I have been contemplating since my cure from leukemia. This year, after defeating Notre Dame, the top-ranked team in the country, and returning to the NCAA Tournament, our program is once again headed in the right direction and ready for new leadership."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.